Shoulder training ... want add abit of size!

[Johnny Begood]

... but i guess adding size it what about 90% of us on this forum want?

..anyway, at the moment i'm training my shoulders once a week with this routine.

After a mobility warm up and some stretches, this is what i've been doing for the last four or six weeks - i don't keep a record of my workouts:

Seated dumbbell press 25kg x (8 reps x 3 sets)
Barbell upright rows 50kg x ( 8 reps x 3 sets) upto the top of my chest.
Dumbbell laterial raises 14kg ( 8 reps x 3 sets)
Dumbell shoulder shruggs 30kg (10 reps x 3 sets) stretching down, squeezing at the top for a second.

.... the thing is.... i have heard that upright rows aren't particually good for your shoulders... but i like them and i get a good pump from them.

I'm thinking of getting rid of the D/B laterial raises - these are the ones that irritate my shoulders - and replacing them with seated barbell military press.

One exercise i might have ago at is the 'Arnold press' - a seated D/B press, but you start with the D/B's in front of the shoulders, palms facing in, press the D/B's up while rotating the D/B's until the palms are facing out/forward.

Anyone got any other exercises or recommendations??

 

[Andy_Massaro]

I personally hate upright row's because every rep I do, my shoulders like crack, and I don't want to hurt myself so I cut those out of my routine a while ago..

Today I actually did shoulders

you def. need military press, it's a great compound workout.. the laterals are good.. you should do both side and front laterals, maybe even superset them..

other than that.. it looks good

I'm not sure about the rep range for size but just keep experimenting and I'm sure you'll get it

 

[shiznit2169]

If you want to add size, you need to eat more. Chances are, you're not eating enough. How is your sleeping/resting habits? Are you getting 8 hours of sleep each night? Are you eating 6 meals a day? Are you getting enough calories? What does your macros look like?

I would review your diet first before your training. You grow outside of the gym, not in. Chances are, you're overtraining and doing too much based on what you posted.

 

[Johnny Begood]

shitznits2169 -

...this is the dilema - hope i spelt that right?- my main interest is Muay Thai, which i do twice a week and bodybuilding / getting as big as i can isn't my main priority.

.. it's just a bit of size and shape to the shoulders......which will hopefully add to my power..??

At the moment i'm training like this:

Monday: Muay Thai 7pm - 9pm
Tuesday: Weights 1pm - 2pm
Wednesday: Muay Thai 7pm 9pm
Thursday:rest
Friday: Weights 1pm - 2pm

Sleep wise... sometimes i get 8hrs... but if i don't i'm not gonna let ruin my day! Rest habits...two small kids, if you want to be in the moment - and it wont last forever,you don't get much rest.

I do eat 5 or 6 meals a day, high protien at the moment, because i want to lose body fat. Can i eat more than i do already... i probably could...but i'm not going to fall into the mind set, like some of the guys out there, where they mistake bodyfat with muscle and being fat with looking muscular.... anyway...size is no guarentee of strength and it's no use to me when i'm training in Muay Thai.

Occasionally we get some of you bodybuilding guys down the gym giving the Muay Thai a go........chances are if they hit something..sure it'd hurt..they might even put someone down.... but after 30 secs..maybe even a minute, they're blowing like a steam train trying get up a hill... and that's if they get past the warm up..

Oh... what are my macros???? excuse the ignorance there.

Chances are, if i were more bodybuilding orientated i would be over training, but i'm trying walk a fine line beween building stamina and muscle.

look forward to your reply.

 

[CowPimp]

Do you count calories? Are you gaining bodyweight at all? If you aren't gaining bodyweight, then you aren't growing and neither will your shoulders.

 

[Johnny Begood]

i feel sure i'm gaining weight. Not that thats my main priority, i'm hoping to keep my bodyfat low, this i judge by the size of my 'love handles' and the defintion of my abs. Before i started the 'regime' i'm on at the moment i was 73kg, when i stepped on the scales before training on Friday lunchtime, i was 76kg.

...but then for the past year i was benching 40kg for 15 reps, the weights i was using were quite embarrasing even for me..... pushing heavy just wasn't on the agenda.

I've only been thinking about my diet seriously these past eight or six weeks, probably eight weeks, this is when i started taking a protien shake in the morning, with breakfast and after training and upping my protien intake generally. Thinking about it, i'm probably not get enough solid calories.

So yeah, my man... i feel i am putting on body weight.

 

[juggernaut]

wanna know how I fixed this problem? Start your shoulder work with seated side laterals. (I usually do this for 4x12, 10, 8, 8). Maintain EXCELLENT form throughout the exercise.
My shoulders really stand out since I started doing this 2 years ago. I switch alternately with heavy dumbell presses every six weeks, but these are the main remedy. My second exercise is dumbell/barbell presses. Again I alternate the two every six weeks.

As for upright rows. Fuck it. Do 'em! I never had the problem. I started putting my thumbs in front of the bar and there's no more "cracking".

 

[CowPimp]

i feel sure i'm gaining weight. Not that thats my main priority, i'm hoping to keep my bodyfat low, this i judge by the size of my 'love handles' and the defintion of my abs. Before i started the 'regime' i'm on at the moment i was 73kg, when i stepped on the scales before training on Friday lunchtime, i was 76kg.

...but then for the past year i was benching 40kg for 15 reps, the weights i was using were quite embarrasing even for me..... pushing heavy just wasn't on the agenda.

I've only been thinking about my diet seriously these past eight or six weeks, probably eight weeks, this is when i started taking a protien shake in the morning, with breakfast and after training and upping my protien intake generally. Thinking about it, i'm probably not get enough solid calories.

So yeah, my man... i feel i am putting on body weight.

What you need to do is start measuring yourself in conjunction with weighing yourself. When you gain weight, it is going to be distributed throughout the body. You aren't going to gain 10 pounds and have it all laid out on your shoulders; it just won't happen. If you are gaining weight and your shoulders are increasing in size, then keep on truckin', otherwise you should start worrying about changing your program.

With that said, I've done very little in the way of isolation work for my shoulders except maybe when I first started for a few months. Overhead pressing has and pulling movements have always been my mainstays, and my shoulders are pretty decent for my size.

 

[juggernaut]

pimp's right. Concentrate on losing the fat first if thats the problem and then only work on adding size. Seems to be the best way anyway. I have gotten down to a respectable leaness where I am about to start adding some mass in September.